Music

07 Apr 2023

Karol G Blasts ‘GQ Mexico’ for ‘Disrespectful’ Magazine Cover: ‘It Does Not Represent Me’

Karol G made it clear that she’s not happy with her latest magazine cover for GQ Mexico.

The Colombian star expressed her disappointment over the image that she says “does not represent me.” The two-photo Instagram post shared on April 6 features a selfie without makeup and the actual magazine cover. “I don’t even know to start this message,” she began her caption.

The artist went on to say that she was thankful to the magazine for giving her this opportunity — she was part of the brand’s inaugural Global Creativity Awards — but that after telling them that she was not comfortable with the “many” edits that they made to her cover, the magazine did nothing about it, she alleged.

“Today my GQ magazine cover was made public, a cover with an image that does not represent me. My face doesn’t look like that, my body doesn’t look like that and I feel very happy and comfortable with how I look naturally,” she stated. “I understand the repercussions this can have, but beyond feeling it’s disrespectful to me, it’s disrespectful to women who wake up looking to feel comfortable with themselves despite society’s stereotypes.”

The “Provenza” singer quickly received messages from fellow women artists congratulating her for taking a stand and calling out the magazine. “I love you. You are beautiful. Thank you for doing this for all of us,” Chiquis commented on the post.

Billboard has reached out to GQ for comment.

Karol G recently released her history-making Mañana Será Bonito, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 when it arrived in March. It became the first No. 1 for her on that tally, and the chart’s first No. 1 all-Spanish-language album by a woman artist. Karol G is set to headline Chicago’s Lollapalooza in August, where she will become the first woman Latin artist to top the bill for the festival.

See Karol G’s message about her GQ cover below:

07 Apr 2023

Friday Music Guide: New Music From Drake, Suga, Youngboy Never Broke Again & Nicki Minaj and More

Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond. 

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This week, Drake makes noise while awaiting rescue, Suga’s Agust D persona returns, and Youngboy Never Broke Again gets a high-wattage assist from Nicki Minaj. Check out all of this week’s picks below:

Drake, “Search & Rescue” 

While Drake’s decision to sample a Kim Kardashian speech and crash it into the middle of “Search & Rescue” — along with using a superimposed image of the two of them together in matching motorcycle helmets — will likely dominate social chatter around the new single, “Search & Rescue” also marks an interesting sonic choice from the superstar, who pivots away from the cutthroat rapping heard on the 21 Savage collaborative project Her Loss to croon about yearning for uncomplicated love. Both the sampled audio and Drake’s audio suggest emotional incompletion after many years of mind-boggling commercial success, and paired with subtly detailed production from Sad Pony and BNYX, the vulnerability proves effective.

Suga (Agust D) feat. IU, “People Pt. 2” 

As the members of BTS continue rolling out solo projects, sometimes as their first officially released statements on their own, Suga’s upcoming D-Day has been a long time coming, as the end of his trilogy under the moniker Agust D (following 2016’s Agust D and 2020’s D-2). “People Pt. 2,” the sequel to one of D-2’s most fully realized pop-rap tracks, spins Suga’s narrative forward with a more complex blend of hip-hop, R&B and top 40 hooks: in between the swelling beauty of IU’s chorus, Suga reflects on connection and loss with a nimble vocal approach and an effortless sense of gravity.

Youngboy Never Broke Again feat. Nicki Minaj, “WTF” 

“Cross YoungBoy, then you cross the Queen,” Nicki Minaj declares to open her verse on “WTF,” a new team-up with Youngboy Never Broke Again that juxtaposes their rap methods but still places them squarely on the same side. After Youngboy’s voice warbles, squeals and unfurls in the same intoxicating manner as heard on his album I Rest My Case from earlier this year, Minaj plays the more traditional role until making a vocal run at the end of her verse; as one of hip-hop’s greats who has expanded the ways in which singing can be deployed in rap music, Minaj sounds right at home alongside Youngboy on “WTF.”

Jonas Brothers, “Waffle House”

When Jonas Brothers made their grand comeback in 2019 with the Hot 100-topping smash “Sucker” and reunion full-length Happiness Begins, they timed the rollout to the spring of that year, so that the single and album could be enjoyed all summer long. “Waffle House,” the trio’s new single which precedes next month’s The Album, could be destined for a similar warm-weather flare-up: the JoBros are locked in with a huge, giddy anthem here, singing about how they’ll always arrive at the right path as bright harmonies explode around them. It’s only April, but don’t be surprised to hear “Waffle House” on this year’s beach playlists.

NF, Hope 

Last week, NF announced an international tour that kicks off in July, runs for three months and will hit plenty of arenas along the way; in case anyone doubted the Michigan rapper and producer’s commercial appeal after becoming an underground titan over the years, that itinerary should put those worries to rest. New album Hope is less of a victory lap than another shot at telling his singular story: fusing elements of alternative rock, modern pop, classic soul and different eras of hip-hop, NF plays upon childhood nostalgia while pondering the state of the world and his own future.

Labrinth, “Never Felt So Alone” 

Did you recognize that voice harmonizing with Labrinth on his woozy new single “Never Felt So Alone”? That’s Billie Eilish, who reached out to the singer-songwriter expressing how much she loved the in-the-works track being produced by her brother Finneas before providing some lilting vocals and leads the second verse. “Never Felt So Alone” certainly speaks to Eilish’s experimental side: Labrinth has long been capable of classically crafted balladry, but here, his words are warped and processed, the production shuddering around his falsetto as he contemplates his solitude.

07 Apr 2023

John Lydon’s Wife Nora Forster Dies at 80 Following Alzheimer’s Battle

Former Sex Pistols singer John Lydon is mourning the death of his wife Nora Forster at age 80 following her long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. The news of Forster’s passing was shared on the Instagram feed of Lydon’s band Public Image Limited in a post that read, “Rest in Peace Nora Forster. It is with a heavy heart that we share the sad news that Nora Forster – John Lydon’s wife of nearly 5 decades – has passed away. Nora had been living with Alzheimer’s for several years. In which time John had become her full time carer.”

The punk icon and Forster were married for 44 years and Lydon had spent the past few years dedicating his public efforts to honoring his longtime love. Lydon, 66 — who was known as Johnny Rotten during his Pistols days — entered the Eurovision Song Contest earlier this year with a touching ballad, “Hawaii,” dedicated to his beloved.

“All journeys end/ Some begin again/ We’re here, you and me/ Hawaii/ Remember me,” Lydon sang over gently thrumming drums and a swaying arrangement in the song that failed to advance in the contest.

The notoriously irascible singer also dedicated his emotional run on The Masked Singer last year to the love of his life and told Billboard at the time that he agreed to slip into the Jester costume to make Nora smile.

“I thought it would be really good because it meant my lovely wife, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, might get a great sense of fun out of it if she managed to guess who it was,” he said. “We’ve lived together for 47 years, Nora and I, so she must have some clues as to who I am and what I can get up to.”

As for why he agreed to do the show after a lifetime of kicking against the mainstream, Lydon said it was love, after all. “This is a giggle, which I don’t mind sharing with the general public, but mostly because I want to see my wife happy,” he said. “Alzheimer’s is a very, very challenging illness. Any connection I can have to bring joy into her life I’m more than happy to do that. Those are my motives.”

According to the BBC Lydon met Forster — who came from a wealthy publishing family — at Vivienne Westwood and Pistol manager Malcolm McLaren’s punk shop Sex in London in 1975, just before the Pistols blew up. Their family ties to punk went deep, as Forster’s daughter from her first marriage to singer Frank Forster, Ariana, became better known as The Slits singer Ari Up; Ariana died from breast cancer in 2010 at age 48.

Earlier this year, Lydon told the Sunday Times that caring for his wife had elicited profound changes in him. “It’s hideous. So pernicious and vile to watch someone you love just slowly disappear,” he said, adding that their life together had been “worth every moment… No joy comes without pain, and boy do I know that now.”

07 Apr 2023

Man Pleads Guilty to Robbery-Killing of Pop Smoke

One of four men charged in the killing of rapper Pop Smoke during a robbery at a Hollywood Hills mansion pleaded guilty Thursday (April 6) to voluntary manslaughter.

The 20-year-old man, who was 17 when the killing occurred, also pleaded guilty in Inglewood juvenile court to home invasion robbery. He was sentenced to four years and two months in a juvenile facility.

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The judge has barred the public use of his name because he was a minor at the time of the shooting.

The 20-year-old New York rapper, whose legal name is Bashar Barakah Jackson, was killed on Feb. 19, 2020, at a rented home where he was staying while on a four-day trip to Los Angeles. A 911 call from a friend of someone in the house reported armed intruders inside the home, police said.

The robbers knew the address because a day earlier, Jackson had posted a photograph on social media of a gift bag he had received and the address was on a label, authorities said.

Jackson was in the shower when masked robbers confronted him. During a struggle, one attacker, who was 15, pistol-whipped the rapper and shot him three times in the back, according to court testimony cited by the Los Angeles Times.

The attackers stole Jackson’s diamond-studded Rolex watch and sold it for $2,000, a detective testified.

The teenager, whose name also is being withheld, was charged in the case along with Corey Walker, who was 19 at the time, and Keandre Rodgers, who was then 18. They are accused of murder during the commission of a robbery and burglary.

Pop Smoke arrived on the rap scene in 2018 and broke out with “Welcome to the Party” a gangsta anthem with boasts about shootings, killings and drugs that became a huge sensation, and prompted Nicki Minaj to drop a verse on a remix.

He had several other hits, including the album “Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon,” which was released posthumously.

07 Apr 2023

Frances Bean Cobain Says Loss Is ‘The Ultimate Teacher’ on 29th Anniversary of Dad Kurt Cobain’s Death

Frances Bean Cobain and Courtney Love paid tribute to Kurt Cobain on the 29th anniversary of the Nirvana singer’s death this week. Cobain’s only child, Frances, 30, posted a loving message about the impermanence of existence in a since-expired Instagram Story (per Rolling Stone) in what appeared to be a meditation on her late father.

“Life is like a wave crashing upon the shore & death is like the wave returning back to the ocean, back to its most natural state,’” she wrote on the anniversary on Wednesday. “I forget exactly where I heard this quote but hearing it makes loss seem less scary and more like a return to the collective consciousness of loving awareness,” the visual artist and singer continued. “Free from pain or human worry. Death serves a purpose. It is what makes life so precious, in the same way pain is purposeful because we wouldn’t know joy without it.”

The message ended with a lesson about being thankful and sharing your love. “Everyday I aim to have gratitude for everything that surrounds this life including loss,” Frances Bean concluded. “It’s the ultimate teacher. Hold the people you love a little more tightly and a little bit closer for me today.”

Cobain’s widow, Hole singer Love, honored the April 5th anniversary by posting an image of Kurt’s hands taken by R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe. “I love beautiful hands, it’s the first thing I look at in another. I love that the only photograph of Kurt that @michaelstipe took despite being a lover of all sorts of beauty, kudzu, @helenachristensen, river pheonix; dozens if not 100s of gorgeous photos of people he finds and sees their ‘Shen’ (a Chinese word of what’s in the eyes – loosely translated as ‘mojo’ but more about the ‘twinkle’),” she wrote alongside the black and white image of the singer/guitarists hands folded over each other across his stomach.

“But Micheal saw these hands. These left handed beautiful hands like a votive/ a mudra, a shot this singular, powerful photograph of my twin flame,” added the singer who is a longtime practicing Buddhist. “It is one of the only images (or sounds/ tastes etc) that makes me miss him deeply. But he chanted with me & often, & truly was moved by our Buddhist practice. I know he’s in an enlightened place, more so, than we here in mappo are. “The arms of a 1000 Buddhas outstretched to greet you” the gosho says. Nam myoho renge kyo dear Kurt D. C. ?? i & we love & miss you.”

Cobain, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on April 8, three days after police determined that he had taken his own life.

See Love’s post here.

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

07 Apr 2023

Melanie Martinez Defeats DMA’S For Australian Chart Crown

Melanie Martinez snags her first chart leader in Australia as Portals (via Atlantic/Warner) debuts at No. 1.

The 27-year-old U.S. singer and songwriter, who made the leap into the public arena during the 2012 season of The Voice, leads the latest ARIA Chart, published April 7, for her second top 10 appearance and third top 40.

Martinez’s previous album, 2019’s K-12, peaked at No. 6; and her debut set, 2015’s Cry Baby, hit No. 27.

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Close behind at No. 2 is Australian indie-act DMA’S How Many Dreams? (I Oh You/Universal). It’s the Australian indie-rock outfit’s fourth studio album and fourth top 10 appearance, following 2020’s The Glow, which also peaked at No. 2; 2018’s For Now (No. 7) and 2016’s Hills End (No. 8).

Completing an all-new top three on the ARIA Albums Chart is The Record (Interscope/Universal), the debut LP from Boygenius, the indie “supergroup” featuring Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus. The No. 3 bow for The Record is an improvement on Bridgers’ No. 12 best with 2020’s Punisher, and Baker’s No. 21 peak for 2021’s Little Oblivions.

Meanwhile, Melbourne punk rock band Private Function just miss out on a top 10 berth with their fourth album, 370HSSV 0773H (Still On Top Records/RKT). It’s new at No. 11, for their second ARIA Chart appearance after 2020’s Whose Line Is It Anyway? reached No. 9. 

The group has made headlines in these parts thanks to the unusual marketing campaign for 370HSSV 0773H. The first 3,000 copies of the physical record features a limited-edition scratchable album cover, and a limited-edition “Gold” release is apparently infused with the band members’ urine. The “Gold” variant was priced at A$200 and sold-out in under a minute, according to reps for the band.

370HSSV 0773H — a title which has a different meaning when read upside down — makes a splash on the ARIA Vinyl Chart at No. 2.

Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Miley Cyrus’ ”Flowers” (Columbia/Sony) extends its reign into a 12th week. With that feat, “Flowers” joins an “elite group,” ARIA reports, tying it with Pharrell Williams’ ”Happy” (from 2014), Eminem’s ”Lose Yourself” (2002-03) and Dinah Shore’s ”Buttons and Bows” (1949).

Only eight songs have spent more time at the helm, with Tones and I’s ”Dance Monkey” the king at 24 weeks at No. 1 in 2019-20. 

Finally, BlackPink’s Jisoo bows at No.33 with her solo single ”Flower” (Interscope/Universal). She becomes the third member of the superstar K-pop girl group to crack the ARIA Top 50. Melbourne, Australia-raised Rosé saw her 2021 single “On The Ground” reached No. 31 and Lisa’s 2021 release “Money” cashed in at No. 32.

07 Apr 2023

A First For Marshmello: ‘El Merengue,’ With Manuel Turizo, Hits No. 1 on Tropical Airplay Chart

Marshmello captures his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart with “El Merengue,” his collaboration with Manuel Turizo. The new champ climbs 2-1 on the chart dated April 8 and sends “La Bachata,” another one of Turizo’s songs to No. 2 after 14 weeks in charge.

Turizo becomes the first artist to replace himself at No. 1 since Marc Anthony achieved the feat as “Un Amor Eterno” dethroned “De Vuelta Pa La Vuelta,” with Daddy Yankee, in March 2021.

EDM DJ and producer Marshmello secured his first entry on any Latin chart when “El Merengue” debuted at No. 4 on the March 18-dated ranking. Now, he scores his first leader as the song rises with a 6% gain in audience impressions, to 7.5 million, earned in the U.S. in the week ending March 30, according to Luminate.

“El Merengue” is the second song from Turizo’s third studio album, 2000, to top Tropical Airplay. The album debuted and peaked at No. 11 on Top Latin Albums (chart dated April 1) and earned him his third top 10 on Latin Rhythm Albums.

As mentioned, “La Bachata” rose to No. 1 in its 10th week where it remained for 14 nonconsecutive weeks.

The Colombian picks up his third straight No. 1 among three career appearances. His first offering arrived through his featured turn on Piso 21’s “Déjala Que Vuelva” which topped the chart for two weeks in 2018.

Elsewhere, “El Merengue” jumps 25-24 on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart with a 5% gain in streams. The track logged 3 million official U.S. streams.

07 Apr 2023

YoungBoy Never Broke Again Recruits Nicki Minaj For Hard-Hitting Single ‘WTF’: Watch

On Friday (April 7), Youngboy Never Broke Again, and Nicki Minaj struck gold again with their new collaboration “WTF.” The new single and video come after their 2022 team-up on “I Admit.” 

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The video is simple as YoungBoy and Nicki trade punchy verses alongside ballet dancers. YoungBoy — who remains on house arrest — raps inside his plush Utah home overlooking the city backdrop. At the same time, Minaj torches her feature with a plethora of punchlines, most notably, “Cross YoungBoy then you cross The Queen / all them Internet games turn boys to memes.”

In an interview with Billboard earlier this year, YoungBoy called his house arrest situation “the best thing that ever happened to me.” 

“I’m very scared right now,” he said. “It’s just natural. I’m not big on people. I never knew why once I walked on the stage, I could get it done and leave — but I am terrified of people. People are cruel. This is a cruel place.” YoungBoy also revealed his plans to become Mormon and eventually get baptized into The Church of Latter-Day Saints once house arrest concludes. 

“I wanted help very badly. I needed a friend. And it hit me,” he relayed. “It was just cool to see someone with a different mindset that had nothing to do with business or money — just these wonderful souls.”

YoungBoy is currently gearing up to release his forthcoming album, Don’t Try This At Home.

Watch the new video for “WTF” featuring Nicki Minaj below.

07 Apr 2023

Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon: Live’ Debuts in Top 10 on Album Sales Chart

Pink Floyd’s archival album The Dark Side of the Moon: Live at Wembley, London, 1974 debuts at No. 8 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated April 8). The set also bows in the top 10 of Top Rock Albums (No. 9), Vinyl Albums (No. 5), Tastemaker Albums (No. 3) and Top Current Album Sales (No. 8). It additionally launches at No. 49 on the Billboard 200 chart.

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The Dark Side of the Moon: Live was released on March 23, and was recorded in November of 1974 during the band’s winter tour at Wembley Empire Pool (the original name for Wembley Arena). This marks the first time the recording has been available as a stand-alone album, though performances from the shows were previously included on earlier deluxe reissues of some of the band’s studio albums. In addition, the Live album is also included as a bonus disc within the just-released 50th anniversary boxed set of The Dark Side of the Moon studio album.

Also on Top Album Sales, new albums from Jimin, Lana Del Rey, Fall Out Boy, Luke Combs and Depeche Mode all debut in the top 10.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Top Rock Albums ranks the week’s most popular rock albums by equivalent album units. Vinyl Albums tallies the top-selling vinyl albums of the week. Top Current Album Sales lists the week’s best-selling current (not catalog, or older albums) albums by traditional album sales. Tastemaker Albums lists the week’s top-selling albums at independent record stores.

The Dark Side of the Moon: Live sold 15,000 copies in the United States in the week ending March 30, according to Luminate. Of that sum, vinyl sales comprise 8,500, yielding at No. 5 debut on the Vinyl Albums chart.

Meanwhile, the original The Dark Side of the Moon album was reissued in as both a multi-disc remastered deluxe boxed set and 10-track digital album on March 23rd for its 50th anniversary. The boxed set contains two CDs, two vinyl LPs, two blu-ray audio discs, a DVD audio disc, two hardcover books and two 7-inch singles. The former No. 1 set continues to hold the record for the most charted weeks on the Billboard 200 (977 weeks and counting).

The new deluxe boxed set’s sales are combined with the original studio album (and any later released iterations) for tracking and charting purposes. Combined, all of the versions sold just over 10,000 copies in the week ending March 30 (up 178%) and sends the album 28-11 on Top Album Sales.

On the latest Billboard 200, Dark Side vaults from 172-48 – marking its highest charting week in over eight years. It last placed higher when it zoomed 183-13 on the Dec. 20, 2014-dated chart, following ultra-cheap sale pricing by a digital retailer.

Back on Top Album Sales, the top 10 is flush with debuts, led by BTS’ Jimin, who sees his solo debut FACE open at No. 1. The set sold 124,000 copies in its first week – the third-largest sales week of 2023.

Like many K-pop releases, the CD edition of FACE was issued in collectible CD packages (five total, including exclusives for Target and the Weverse webstore) each containing a standard set of items and randomized elements (photo cards and postcards). It was also available as a standard digital download album, plus two alternative cover digital download variants that were sold exclusively through his official webstore. 79% of FACE’s first-week sales were CDs, while the remaining 21% were digital album downloads. It was not released in any other format (vinyl, cassette, etc.).

Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd debuts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales with 87,000 copies sold. Of that sum, physical sales comprise 81,000 (58,500 vinyl LPs, 20,500 CDs and 2,000 cassettes) and digital download album sales comprise 6,000.

The album’s robust vinyl sales mark the largest week for a vinyl album in 2023 and Del Rey’s best sales week on vinyl ever. It debuts at No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums chart.

Did You Know was issued in six vinyl variants: a standard black vinyl, a picture disc and four color vinyl editions (pink, green, red and white) all with different covers, exclusive to Amazon, independent retailers, Target and her webstore, respectively. Did You Know was also issued in nine CD iterations (a standard edition, four with alternative covers, and four deluxe boxed sets exclusive to her webstore containing either a T-shirt and a CD or a hoodie and a CD). Del Rey even dropped the album on cassette tape — in five different color variants (black, white, pink, green and red).

Fall Out Boy’s So Much (for) Stardust starts at No. 3 on Top Album Sales with 49,000 sold. Physical sales comprise 42,000 (21,000 vinyl LPs, 20,000 CDs and 1,000 cassette tapes) and digital download album sales comprise 7,000.

Stardust was supported by a hefty number of physical formats – one standard CD, two cassettes, nine stand-alone vinyl LPs in assorted colors, eight deluxe vinyl boxed sets (each containing a different color vinyl LP and branded merchandise) and 11 deluxe CD boxed sets (seven containing a CD edition of the album and branded merch — and four consisting of an autographed CD along with merch).

Luke Combs’ Gettin’ Old bows at No. 4 on Top Album Sales with a little over 32,000 sold. It was available in eight physical editions – two CDs (a standard version and a signed edition exclusive to his webstore), five vinyl LPs (standard black, a deluxe black edition containing a slipmat [either signed or unsigned, exclusive to his webstore], an opaque white-colored edition exclusive to Amazon and a blue-colored edition exclusive to Walmart), and a red-colored cassette tape.

Depeche Mode’s new Memento Mori rounds out the all-debuts top five on Top Album Sales, as the veteran band’s latest studio set enters at No. 5 with 29,000 copies sold. Physical sales comprise 21,000 of that sum (11,500 CDs, 9,000 vinyl LPs and about 500 cassette tapes) and digital download album sales comprise 8,000. The album was available in three vinyl variants (a standard black edition as well as a clear version and red-colored pressing), two CD editions (a version with enhanced packaging, as well as a standard edition) and one cassette tape.

Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time is pushed down 4-6 on Top Album Sales, though with a gain, as it sold 17,000 (up 36%) – following the release of its vinyl LP. It sold 8,000 copies on vinyl during the tracking week. TWICE’s former No. 1 Ready to Be: 12th Mini Album falls 2-7 with 16,000 sold (down 46%).

Two former chart-toppers close out the top 10, as Taylor Swift’s Midnights drops 3-9 with 12,000 (down 1%) and TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: Temptation dips 6-10 with 11,000 (up 1%).

In the week ending March 30, there were 2.197 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 19.9% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.803 million (up 20.8%) and digital albums comprised 394,000 (up 15.7%).

There were 791,000 CD albums sold in the week ending March 30 (up 26.1% week-over-week) and 997,000 vinyl albums sold (up 16.7%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 8.343 million (up 2.5% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 11.529 million (up 26.4%).

Overall year-to-date album sales total 24.638 million (up 8.7% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 20 million (up 15.1%) and digital album sales total 4.639 million (down 12.2%).

06 Apr 2023

Billie Eilish Dishes the Assist on Labrinth’s ‘Never Felt So Alone’: Stream It Now

Billie Eilish, the superstar, alternative pop-phenomenon, is on featured-artist duty for Labrinth‘s latest release, “Never Felt So Alone.”

Dropping at the stroke of midnight, the single credits Eilish and her producer brother Finneas as composer and lyricists.

Eilish’s unmistakable dreamy vocals flow in the background of this mid-to-slow tempo track, as she recites the track’s title.

Labrinth, the British artist and producer (real name: Timothy McKenzie), had teased the tune earlier in the week, with a trailer that had many wondering if it could really, truly, actually be Billie Eilish on the mic.

It is.

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“Never Felt So Alone” was featured in Euphoria‘s second season, but had remained unreleased since the show’s latest installment dropped on HBO Max last year.

The collaboration didn’t appear from out of nowhere. Labrinth was one of Eilish’s special guests during one of her hometown shows at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles last December. The two teamed up that night for a live performance of, you guessed it — “Never Felt So Alone.”

Eilish is anything but a vocal gun-for-hire. The Labrinth collaboration is just her third guest appearance, after 2018’s “Sirens” with Denzel Curry and JID; and 2020’s “Sunny” with her own brother.

The “Bad Guy” singer has two full length albums to her name, 2019’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, and 2021’s Happier Than Ever, both of which reigned over albums charts everywhere. Along the way, she became just the the second artist in Grammy Awards history to win all four of the Big Four categories, and became the youngest artist to write and perform a James Bond theme, “No Time to Die,” aged just 18.

Stream “Never Felt So Alone” below.